This Tuesday 1st June marked a significant moment in the fight against Covid-19, with no coronavirus-related deaths recorded in the UK for the first time since the pandemic began. This is extremely good news. I thought you would be interested in the comments from Matthew Kershaw and Agnelo Fernandes.
On the surface, this seems like a pivotal moment – and while it is important to recognise that it follows a steady decline in people needing to be treated in hospital, and with fewer families and friends losing loved ones – we haven’t reached the light at the end of the tunnel quite yet. Data shows the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in England is now rising and the variant first identified in India, now called Delta, continues to spread across the capital and other areas of the country. There is no evidence for questioning the effectiveness of our vaccines against this variant, which is why, working with our partners, we continue our drive to protect as many people as possible against the virus.
Over 800,000 people in south west London have now received their first vaccination, with nearly 470,000 protected by two doses. That means 1.27 million vaccinations have been delivered in less than six months. We continue to run walk-in services for those who are eligible for a first dose at our community vaccination centres. These are for first doses only to ensure we protect as many of our residents as possible. People should attend their scheduled appointment for their second dose unless the NHS contacts them – there is no need to contact the NHS. All walk-in sessions and most pop-up vaccination clinics will be added to our website here – this page is updated regularly and we would appreciate your support in sharing the information.
We hope this update is helpful – please do let us know if you have any questions.
Matthew Kershaw
Placed Based Leader for Health, Croydon
Dr Agnelo Fernandes
GP Borough Lead for Croydon
NHS South West London Clinical Commissioning Group
